I sure wish the NCAA would quit lying to everyone that “it’s not about money“, and just own up to the fact that there is absolutely, positively no way that the BCS system is better than a playoff.
The Most Important Thing…
Related to the BCS (and college sports in general)…Education. I’ve heard anti-playoff folks complain about the fact that a playoff system would be detrimental to the students and education. Simply put, that is a total lie. You can look at team schedules from the past few years, and you’ll see the fact of the matter. Most teams playing in a BCS bowl game, will have anywhere from 4-6 weeks between their last regular season game and their bowl game.
You could give the students 2 weeks with no games to focus on finals and end of the semester homework, and still have time for a playoff. An 8 team playoff could be completed in 3 weeks, and a 12 team NFL style playoff can be done in 4 weeks. So, spare me all the arguments that cite a strain on the educational component of the equation; it just doesn’t hold water.
Next…
Fair competition. Obviously, from a competitive standpoint, the best solution is a playoff. The BCS system allows too many odd variables to enter into the equation. Rankings, conference affiliation, personal bias and other various factors all contribute to the BCS “winners”. A playoff is the only clear cut way to determine a champion in college football. When every major sport, college or pro, determines a champion by playoff; there must be a reason. Here is a previous post where I give a slightly more detailed breakdown of my playoff setup.
Tradition…Old and New
What about all that tradition in college football? Won’t a playoff system ruin the bowl games? Nope, not at all. You can still have bowl games and a playoff system. You can even combine the two. The NFL has “wild card” games or divisional playoff games, and college football could easily do something similar. You still have the “Rose Bowl” labeled as one of your big BCS tourney games, same for the Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, etc. You can also have all your bowl games of less importance too. The teams that go 6-6, 7-5, etc don’t get left out because they can still go to the Texas Bowl, Motor City Bowl and so on; everyone wins.
We’ve been talking about past tradition, but what about the future? You have the opportunity to start a new tradition…Winter Madness. Yes, that’s right, a college football edition of March Madness. Can you imagine how exciting it would be to have a bracket, selection Sunday, and the whole she-bang? I can describe it in one word…AWESOME!
All About the Benjamins…
Okay, I think we’ve covered the most important parts of the playoff. But, since I don’t believe the NCAA comments mentioned at the opening, I’ll cover one last aspect…money. Sure, we’d love to think this was really all about education, what’s best for the kids, schools, etc. However, we live in reality, and obviously money is a huge factor to the equation. I mean why else would this damn BCS system exist? The system is shrouded in controversy nearly every year and almost every poll of sports fans indicates that a playoff is what people want to see. Yet, we don’t get a playoff.
I have my reasons for why I think the system is in place. I truly think the major investors/advertisers/etc have some money diverting to key players in the pipeline. The funny thing? I don’t think they realize how much more money they could make by establishing a playoff. For one, there wouldn’t be such a large lull between the last meaningful regular season game and a meaningful bowl game. This aspect alone will help increase interest and ratings for the college football postseason.
Sponsors are a key component of the current bowl system, and they’ll be just as crucial in a playoff system. The good news? You can still have your big bowl game investors like Tostitos, Nokia, etc. But, a playoff creates even more opportunities for investors and advertisers to get involved. With a tournament you can add a “Selection Sunday” show where the final 8 or 12 get announced live to everyone for the first time. In recent years, this has become a much bigger deal with the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament, and I can only imagine it being even more compelling with college football (and with less spots up for grabs). There is even the prospect of “playoff” weekends and establishing multiple connected events, timelines, specials, and shows to coincide with a tournament that ultimately leads to one final game.
Bottom line: I just wish the powers that be would put aside all the BS and make a playoff…I mean, make Winter Madness a reality.